Is It Bad That the Main Character’s a Roleplayer? [Novel] Chapter 166

Chapter 166: Making Excuses (6)

—What…?

—“If you don’t want the land to dry up”? What is that supposed to mean?

“Could you explain precisely what you mean by that?”

Instead of answering, I tossed the Lord of Ednium a scroll made of leaves.

“This is…”

“A reply I received from the priests who serve the descendants of Yukgwi.”

“…! Yukgwi?”

—Isn’t Yukgwi a primordial beast that resides in the Great Forest?

—I heard the Great Forest was so reclusive that establishing contact with it was nearly impossible…

The others reacted to my answer with mild astonishment.

“Demon Knight, you…”

The Archmage immediately understood the significance of what I had done.

Meanwhile, the Lord of Ednium swiftly yet elegantly unfolded the scroll.

“This is… the script of the Great Forest. I cannot read—ah, is this the translation?”

He spread the leaf scroll across the center of the table where everyone could see it, then began reading aloud from the translated copy.

“To the Black Thunder Serpent, benefactor of the Great Forest. We have heard from the messenger you sent. Just as you once saved the Great Forest, it seems you are now saving others…”

The letter was somewhat lengthy, though not excessively so.

Once the praise directed at me—which made my face grow rather hot as he read it—the compliments for my companions, their reports on how they were faring, and their wishes for our good fortune were removed, only a few truly important paragraphs remained.

“…The Mountain Lord says that primordial beasts are not connected to the natural flow of the world. Their tremendous power allows them to interfere with that flow to some degree, but the life in a region will not disappear merely because such a beast dies or departs.”

Yes. That was it.

That was exactly what I had wanted.

Confirmation that this land would not perish even if Biryuho dropped dead. That was why I had sent the letter.

“Furthermore, allow me to add one more observation out of concern. I have heard that the western lands inexplicably dry up at regular intervals. Supposedly, this was not always the case, but began only after the primordial beast that had settled there departed. If so, the beast that left may itself be the cause…”

—What?!

—Wait, what does that mean…?

Although emotion entered his voice midway through the passage, the Lord of Ednium first raised a hand to restrain the others.

Then he continued reading. His voice carried greater force than before, ringing through the hall with a deeper resonance.

“As I said earlier, primordial beasts possess enough power to interfere with the world’s flow. Most often, that interference merely accelerates or slows it. They cannot halt the flow completely, but they can temporarily prevent new life from being born.”

For a moment, his reading voice sounded as though it were being forced through clenched teeth.

“Naturally, this may not be the answer. The Mountain Lord, however, appears convinced. Therefore, Benefactor, please exercise caution. You are the guardian of the young, the liberator of the oppressed, and the judge of the unjust. I know that once you learn the truth, you will move to deliver the punishment that is deserved. Yet your opponent is a spirit beast that has inhabited this land since primordial times. It will not be an easy adversary.”

More importantly, my lord, are you really going to read all the way to the end?

You’re embarrassing me.

“Nevertheless, you are one who will advance to save them all. I pray that victory follows the Black Thunder Serpent. Written by High Chieftain Ekua.”

Thankfully, he did not read the postscript.

Most of it consisted of a question about whether they were truly permitted to provide a little cooperation—information, in other words—to the messenger I had sent, namely the Information Guild.

Had he read that aloud as well, I would have questioned his judgment. It had absolutely nothing to do with this meeting.

“…I believe this letter requires a little further explanation.”

Setting that aside, he wanted me to explain even more?

“This… This is…”

“That is everything. Nothing more needs to be asked. So make your decision. Will you resist an unjust power, or will you submit and continue offering someone else’s blood because you are unwilling to shed your own?”

Sorry, but I had no confidence in dressing things up with pretty words, so let us end it there.

“I will warn you of one thing, however. The fact that the blood being spilled today is not yours does not guarantee that the same will be true next time.”

They had only two choices anyway.

—H-how do we know that letter is not a fabrication…?

Even so, it appeared someone still feared the blood that might be spilled immediately. One of them attempted to deny the evidence placed before them.

“That letter is genuine!”

—And you are…?

“That person is the Hero.”

—Gasp.

The Inquisitor promptly disposed of that objection.

As a bonus, those who had been about to support the first city lord immediately shut their mouths.

“Before coming to this land, we passed through the Great Forest and saved its people! The Demon Knight stood at the center of everything that happened there, so he more than deserves to receive a reply from them!”

That settled the letter’s credibility.

Only two choices remained before them now.

Delay and indifference were no longer options.

—If that is the truth…

At that moment, an exceptionally clear voice rang through the council chamber.

—Camborough will fight.

It was the Young City Lord of Camborough.

—Young City Lord of Camborough!

—I am saying that Camborough will never retreat, regardless of the consequences.

—Lord of Camborough, are you not going to say anything?!

—Th-that is…

—My lord, say something at once!

—I… Well…

—Can this truly be right when the citizens themselves do not want it, Lord of Camborough?

Naturally, she was immediately placed in a difficult position. The other city lords seized upon the fact that she was only the young lord and tried by any means possible to silence her.

Yet the Lord of Camborough, seated directly beside her, merely hesitated and could not bring himself to speak.

Judging from the way his gaze repeatedly darted toward the young lord, it almost seemed as though he were watching her reaction.

—Oh, I never realized all of you were kind enough to concern yourselves with the citizens of our city. You seemed perfectly willing to sacrifice a city’s young lord, so I assumed you would consider something like this insignificant.

The Young City Lord of Camborough was not someone they could easily trample over either.

Appearing at roughly eighty percent opacity through the magical projection, she smiled thinly.

—Young City Lord!

—So all we need to do is ask the citizens for their opinion?

—Y-yes! Surely the citizens’ wishes are what matter most! They will oppose it!

—Mage, can you transmit the sounds coming from outside?

—Ah, that is difficult without any preparation…

—I heard you were short on research funding.

—Why wouldn’t I be able to do it? I’ll give it a try.

Wait. Did I just witness the birth of a monster fueled by research grants?

—There, it’s done!

Fortunately, before my feelings could become any more complicated, Camborough’s mage completed his research-funding side quest.

“I’ll connect the sound now.”

No sooner had he spoken than an enormous roar poured into the chamber.

—Kill Biryuho!

—What has that damned tiger ever done for us?!

—The Young City Lord gave us a future and told us this: rights are forged with our own hands!

—I don’t care whether it’s a spirit beast or an ordinary animal! I want payment in blood for my child!

—Let us kill Biryuho! God or no god, there is no reason we must endure endless, unjust trials!

The thunderous cries filled the council chamber.

“Young City Lord of Camborough, this is…”

—Rumors have spread that Biryuho was the true culprit behind the savage-beast catastrophe. I had no choice but to confirm the truth for them, and this was the result. Until now, I have tried my best to ignore their cries out of concern that subjugating Biryuho might harm the other cities. But if what we just heard is true… well, I see no reason to continue doing so.

—Young City Lord! Allowing such rumors to spread when you hold that position…!

—That is our city’s concern, not yours.

—…!

—In any case, if Biryuho’s death will not harm the eastern lands—no, if Biryuho truly is responsible for drying out this land every year—then Camborough will hold that damned tiger accountable for every loss we have suffered. There will be no compromise on this matter.

Amid the citizens’ shouts, the Young City Lord of Camborough made her declaration with perfect clarity.

—We will fight for our rights.

As someone from the modern world who had studied the history of struggles for dignity, freedom, and rights, I could not help but feel my blood stir at those words.

Of course, let us briefly forget that the person saying them belonged to the nobility. A flaw does not stop jade from being jade, and a slight tarnish to the meaning did not render it worthless.

—…If the droughts truly are Biryuho’s doing, and killing it will cause no other calamity, then my city will support the hunt as well.

—Lord of Bemürchen!

—Every year, the famine claims dozens of our soldiers. Those losses accumulated beyond the thousands long ago. As the saying goes, a stitch in time saves nine. Under these circumstances, we will not retreat.

—But that…

Once she opened the way, the others began changing their positions as well.

The cities untouched by the drought remained skeptical, but those within its affected territory immediately allowed Camborough’s passion to set them alight.

“I had intended to hold this back because it has not yet been verified… but I always learn something from you. I had only thought to gather cases from the western lands.”

At that moment, the Archmage whispered almost imperceptibly.

She did not turn her gaze even slightly, so anyone who was not nearby would have struggled to notice that she was speaking to me.

“Thank you. You have opened a path for us.”

So the Archmage had been collecting cases from the west.

Well, she was no fool. She would naturally have prepared at least one contingency for an outcome this obvious.

It was surprising that she had not thought to ask the Mountain Lord of the Great Forest, but it was hardly inexplicable.

Perhaps it was because she already knew so much, or because the Magic Tower was itself a repository of knowledge. Whatever the reason, the Archmage rarely tried to obtain information from anywhere beyond the Tower.

More precisely, it might be better to say that she seldom considered other places capable of providing knowledge at all.

—But those words came from a descendant of Yukgwi! The descendant’s beliefs may differ from the truth…!

“Now, now. Before objecting, please hear this as well. As it happens, I also have something to say regarding that matter…”

In any case, once the evidence the Archmage had gathered was added, the current shifted even more decisively in our favor.

According to her, the western cases had not yet been fully verified. The Mountain Lord’s letter, however, supplied the credibility her evidence lacked—and her evidence did the same for the letter.

—Ahem… If we are to kill Biryuho… precisely how many troops must we commit?

“That would…”

“None.”

“I also—oh.”

Most decisively of all, they would not even need to accept losses in the act of hunting Biryuho.

“A beast that reeks like that will require no more time than it takes for a cup of tea to cool.”

I would be the one to kill it.

—Excuse me, but who exactly is that young man who has been speaking so boldly…?

—The Demon Knight. He is a fairly renowned adventurer in the northwestern region.

—An adventurer? Then a mere adventurer is standing there and—

“He is also the companion chosen by the Hero.”

—…Ah. So it is because he is the Hero’s chosen companion that he speaks with such confidence.

Who was the city lord who just pulled off that spectacular backpedal?

Their evasive maneuvering skill was maxed out.

—But he is not the Hero himself. For a companion to be so certain…

“Um, I also…”

—Whenever a demon escapes the Demon Realm, he hunts it down with enough determination to pursue it to the ends of hell. Whenever someone turns a power created to destroy demons against humanity, he severs their head without question and builds mountains from their corpses.

Unfortunately, I could not identify the city lord who had backpedaled, and the Inquisitor—whose attempts to speak had been ignored for some time—was silenced yet again.

One figure was staring directly at me as he continued.

—His methods are brutal and seemingly devoid of mercy, yet his refusal to ever cut down the innocent reveals his convictions. His movements remain shrouded in questions and speculation, but the deeds believed to be his are more than sufficient to call him a hero.

The man even smiled when our gazes met.

—Thus, in the name of Osla, we dared bestow the title of “knight” upon a mere adventurer.

His eyes curved until they disappeared into narrow crescents. Atop his head sat a pair of broad, triangular ears resembling those of a fox.

—That happened while I was in Osla. Ah, the proposal was not mine, of course. I was merely an apprentice knight at the time. I did, however, have the good fortune to witness your deeds firsthand while participating in field training.

My mind went blank for a moment.

What exactly had he seen?

—I always thought it would be nice to meet you someday, but I never imagined it would happen at a moment like this. The world is full of surprises.

—Osla… bestowed the name of knight upon him?

—Well, it is hardly important, is it? He does not seem to remember me at all. But at the very least… I believe this establishes that the adventurer has the standing to speak here.

“He participated in the recent subjugation of the Archdemon as well. A man who helped slay an Archdemon is hardly arrogant for speaking of taking Biryuho’s head.”

—Quite right. It appears my intervention was unnecessary.

“I-I will join the hunt as well!”

“What? Are we talking about hunting Biryuho? Berserker will join too! We’re hunting a tiger!”

—Now that the Hero has expressed the same intention, I do not believe there is anything more to discuss.

I barely stopped myself from blinking on reflex.

Instead, I discreetly bit the inside of my cheek.

The Demon Knight’s past.

The bomb I had done my utmost to ignore while spouting every excuse imaginable had suddenly taken a great stride toward me before I could prepare.